Life update: beaches, birthday and carrots oh my!

Apologies everyone!

I've had limited internet access for a while now due to wifi troubles. Thankfully, that got cleared up (and hopefully stays that way!)

Regardless, some fun times have come and passed!

The beach

All summer I've been busy with an internship and haven't gone to the beach...until last Tuesday!

My boyfriend, Steve, and our friends, Jen, Melissa, and Danielle, drove to Seaside in New Jersey where we watched the waves roll in, ate at a bar and grill, went on some rides and just enjoyed each others company.

We arrived around 4 and lounged on the beach until around 6. Something magical happened as soon as we got on the beach: a brown butterfly landed on Jen's arm! I rushed over to snap a picture with my camera and thankfully got it just in time for it to fly away. It was a good omen for the rest of the day.

The ocean's tide was hypnotic to watch. I've always loved water but never really cared for going deep into the ocean. At best I'll put my feet/knees in. That didn't stop Steve from going in though: he dived straight into it with a boogie board for some body surfing. He got sand in so many random places (hair, behind the ears) that I still felt and saw some hours later whenever I hugged him. The important thing is that he had fun though.
Jen was fearless and went in the water as well. Steve asked me if I was afraid of the water. I'm not but I wanted to relax rather than get sand in unspeakable places. Poor Jen got knocked down by a wave and went under! I sure wouldn't have taken it as well as she did.

Danielle and Melissa chilled out on the big beach towel we brought. Danielle read some book out loud but I don't remember what it was because at that point I was reading my own book. Reading on the beach is great but it can be hard to accomplish when you have a boyfriend who loves to cuddle. Not like I minded though!

We regressed to children and went on some rides after we grabbed dinner. Apparently, according to Jen, I'm a silent screamer. Glad to know I didn't deafen her.
We concluded the night by stepping into a candy shop and getting some massive slices of pizza. I also splurged on some salt water taffy and let me tell you, in my house, that stuff goes fast. My dad will eat it by the ton load if I don't stop him!

Overall, nothing beats good company. Having a handful of amazing friends is worth more to me than having a hundred who barely remember my name.

Birthday bash

It's not every day you turn 22. For Steve's birthday, Danielle, Jen, Melissa, Cynthia and I took Steve out to Serendipity in the city.
Can I just say what a pain in the neck it was to get reservations? Originally we wanted to go to the Sugar Factory but that didn't work out too well. Thank god someone picked up the phone when I called Serendipity. Apparently, another group had cancelled on the evening I wanted, equaling a success for me.

I had never been there before but Steve had and he said the food was good. The place is small and crowded, but really cute. Our waiter was hilarious and like, the king of sass. I wound up ordering the lemon sole with asparagus, rice and lemon butter sauce.
It was like heaven on a fork.

For dessert, I split a frozen hot chocolate with Steve and ordered a lemon ice box pie. I think it's safe to say I have a thing for lemons. The rest of our friends all shared a frozen hot chocolate. Those things were huge!
The next day Cynthia and I went over to Steve's house to celebrate with his family which was nice. We went in the pool, goofed off and I got to give him his present. We had two reasons to celebrate: one being the obvious reason, the other being he recently got a job!
I'm really happy for him. I know how hard he was looking since he graduated college and now it's finally set in stone! Must be a nice relief. Hopefully when I get out of school things work out for me as well.

The carrot harvest

Just a little update on my garden: I harvested my carrots today! Some are little nothings while others are bigger. These were grown from seed. I used Burpee seeds, which I've found produce the best plants. I'll probably make them with a salad or something.
Look how cute they are!

School and Wagnerian

School starts for me tomorrow. I cannot believe it. I don't want to believe it. The summer went so fast! I remember when I first started my internship and how I fussed over getting new clothes for it.
Today I'll be getting school supplies and possibly more clothes.
I'm excited and a little nervous over this semester for several reasons: I have five classes, I need some sort of income, I'm the new co-editor of the Wagnerian (the school newspaper), I'm involved with Nimbus (literary magazine), CSA (Commuter Student Association) and ETE (Exceeding the Expectation). Not to mention I want to keep this blog updated and have a social life!
The cool thing is the first issue of the Wagnerian is already published. It came out great! The other co-editor and I designed all of it together and I wrote some articles in it while our staff wrote some other articles.
This year should be a busy one, but a good one overall. I hope to keep you all posted on the things I'll be doing and I hope you'll stay interested!
And by the way, look out for my DIYs! I'll be doing a rose bath bomb DIY soon!

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About Me

Ariana Palmieri is a zero waste blogger dedicated to sustainable living, all-natural products, and improving the environment in Staten Island, New York. In July 2015 she started her blog, Greenify-Me, and in 2017 she joined the zero waste community. She's been blogging from a zero waste angle ever since. Her work has been featured on MindBodyGreen, Motivation Grid, The Penny Hoarder, Plant Makeup, Basmati, and several other publications.